Knowledge in womenliterature
Women and sexism in Indian school textbook
Women and sexism in Indian school textbook
Akshay Kumar
Redefining the educated person
Redefining the educated person
Contemporary challenges to Women's education
Contemporary challenges to women's education
Analyzing the themes of precarity and purity in the Dystopian novel ‘ Leila’
‘Leila’ is a dystopian novel that was written by Prayaag Akbar. It was published in 2017. Dystopian literature can be defined as the way the world is supposedly going in order to provide urgent propaganda for a change in direction. ‘Leila’ is set in a futuristic and a dystopian world where the society is divided into different sectors, with each caste community having its own sector. Although a variety of tropes belonging to the dystopian genre were expressed in this novel, the themes of precarity and purity will be analyzed in this essay. The idea of ‘Indianness’ will also be explained through the quotes that have been cited from the novel. The theme of precarity can be identified through three factors- mainly social, political and ecological. The setting of the novel is set in futuristic Delhi/Mumbai. This connection can be made as throughout the novel, the term ‘sectors’ are used to describe different sections of society. This is a similar case in Delhi, where there are many locations that use the term ‘sector’ as a suffix. The novel can also be categorized as an ecological-dystopian novel. Global warming has finally taken its toll as it can be identified throughout the novel that the futuristic society has changed irrevocably due to climate change. The beginning of the climatic shift can be seen as- Every year the temperatures rose and the water problem worsened. Our fifth summer in the East End- Leila closing on three- the air was so dry you could hardly sweat. The newspapers led with panicked articles about the record-breaking heatwave. ( Akbar2017, p. 86) Through this quote, we can identify certain terms that reveal the declination of the environment. The rising of the temperature is a common characteristic of global warming. The ‘water problem’ is also a recurring issue in most of the metropolitan cities in India, especially some parts of Delhi in recent years. Also, the terms ‘panicked’ and ‘record-breaking’ are used to describe the heatwaves that are affecting society. This shows a rapid but consistent degradation of the environment. The theme of precarity, in relation to political and social factors, can be noticed through some of the terms that are used to describe buildings or a certain group of people- such as ‘The council’, ‘The Repeaters’, ‘The Walls’ etc. All of these terms work as an allegory to the current political and social structure of India. ‘The Walls’, which in the novel are used to separate the ‘pure’ sections from the ‘impure’ sections, are allegorical to some of the gated communities that exist in Gurgaon and Delhi that are used to separate the elite class from the lower strata of the society. ‘The Council’, who represent the most respected members of the society, ‘Purity One’, are the ones who implement the laws and certain rules that everyone needs to follow. ‘The Council’ works an allegory for the radical political parties in India who base their foundation in orthodox beliefs. ‘The Repeaters’ are the group of people, who act more like a violent mob, who make sure that the rules implemented by ‘The Council’ are compiled by everyone. Thus, ‘The Repeaters’ are directly allegorical to the followers of these radical political parties. The capturing of Shalini and the killing of Riz by ‘ The Repeaters’, because she was a Hindu and he was Muslim and they got married, is a representation of the communal violence that still exists between Hindus and Muslims in India. ‘The Council’ in this sense, might represent a radical political party such as the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ), who propagate the idea of inter-religious marriages. Thus these terms and their functions in the novel reflect an exaggerated version of the already dystopian reality we live in. The second trope of dystopian fiction that was predominant in ‘Leila’, was that of purity. The futuristic city itself was named ‘Purity One’. As previously mentioned, the entire society was divided into separate communities called ‘sectors’, which were divided by walls. Also- Each sector had its own caste insignia, distinctive edges, signatures, backgrounds. The tricky part must’ve been the watermark: the pyramid and, underneath that, ‘ Purity for All’.( Akbar 2017, p. 61) Through the above quote, we can grasp at the semblance of the caste system that exists in India. The dominance of the caste system can be felt as each sector was divided on the basis of caste, and each person’s position in the society was held by his/her caste. There are mentions of different sectors belonging to different castes, such as- sectors belong to ‘ Guptas’, ‘ Kanpuri Brahmins’, ‘ Salsette Catholics’, ‘ Patels’ etc. As each of these cases had their own ‘caste insignias’ and ‘signatures’, a person’s ID would also include their caste. At the same time, there was also the ‘scavenger caste’, who live outside the walls as they were ‘impure’. The thought of ostracizing a group of people on the basis of their birth is in itself dystopian. Thus the phrase ‘Purity for all’ is a perfect example of situational irony. These fictional castes in the novel can also be interpreted as being categories or even sub-categories of the four Varnas ( Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra). The elites classes, such as the ‘Kanpuri Brahmins’ belong to the upper strata of the society as they are of the Brahmin caste, while the ‘ scavenger caste’ belongs to the lower strata of the society and have to live outside the ‘Skydome’ as they belong to the Shudra caste. This is also a reflection on the current caste issues in India. The Indian fixation with purity is not only from birth but also from morality. This can be seen in the novel in the way a woman's body is always connected with this sense of ‘purity, and how it must be protected. ‘When woman gives in to carnality’, Mr. Vijay continues, a choke in his voice once again, ‘ imagine if all women gave in. You know what will come? Utter confusion. Bedlam. We are a society that needs rules. Boundaries. The ancient lines are there for a reason. ( Akbar 2017, p.172) Here the words ‘give in’ is used when expressing women’s sexuality. This portrays women as having an innate desire for sexual intercourse, and that it is a desire that one must not give in too. The terms ‘utter confusion’ and ‘Bedlam’, that are used to describe the effect of all women giving in to carnality, are also terms that could be used to describe the dystopian concurrent events. Thus the interpretation can be made that the entire dystopian society revolves around the purity of the female body. This also has the idea of ‘Indianness’ as in India, parents are overly protective of their daughters so that they remain ‘pure’. Thus, we can see identify how the tropes of precarity and purity are expressed in the dystopian novel ‘Leila’. One can also examine how some terms and instances in the novel are allegorical to the unpredictable and the unstable foundation on which India’s politics and society are embedded in. Another observation that can be made is how ‘purity’ is expressed in the novel through the caste system and through a female body. In conclusion, although the novel ‘Leila’ has its foundation in dystopian fiction, it can also be considered as speculative fiction. REFERENCES- Akbar, Prayaag. 2017. Leila. Simon & Schuster India: New Delhi
Kartik Mathur
Analysing the streotypes used in Chetan Bhagat’s One Night@ the Call Center
Chetan Bhagat is one of the best-known authors of India in English. His books have gained a lot of popularity over the years, but that is mostly in India. He cannot find much fame abroad. One of the reasons for this is because of the very common and general stereotypes he uses in his novels. The text we are going to analyze today has many of the aforementioned stereotypes. These stereotypes do not only limit themselves to India, but to America as well. In this paper, many of these stereotypes will be analyzed within the context of the plot, and then within the context of the contemporary world. Firstly, the name of the novel is in itself a stereotype. There is a worldwide generalization about Indians on how all of us, at one point or another, work in a call center. Although that may be true to some extent, the quotidian frustrations of the night shifts, along with the stingy self-caring boss, makes this novel quite stereotypical. One of the stereotypes that have been predominant in this book is those of the relationship between a mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law. In India, due to pop culture, and TV serials, it is shown numerous time of a joint family, with traditional backgrounds and mentality, living together in a big house, the same is shown over here, as Radhika, one of the female charecters in the story, is forced to live with her husband’s over critical parents. Some of the other similar stereotypes that have been mentioned are that the daughter-in-law should always obey her husband’s parents. The same can be identified here as well- ‘Not at all. In fact, I like the cozy family feeling. They are only a little bit old-fashioned.’ Radhika said and smiled. I did not think the smile was genuine, but it was none of my business. ( Bhagat 2010, p. 58) Here we can identify some of the afore-mentioned streotypes. The suspicion behind the ‘genuine’ smile is one such instance. This could be a way of denoting the suppression that Radhika must have felt, as she is not allowed to say anything negative against her new parents. The same can be said for the ‘little old fashioned’. If we look at the semantic meaning behind it, we can feel her trying to surge out and tell her friends how she truly feels about her new mother. But she is not able to, due to the unwritten rules of the society. So instead she tries to drop hints about her parents. Thus we can say that the term ‘little’ was used by her in a sarcastic way, but she was not able to express it in the same way. Another instance of where Radhika was stereotyped was when we got to know that she was not allowed to wear the clothes she wanted to ear as her new parents would not allow her to do that- ‘ They don’t make me do anything, Esha. I am willing to follow their culture. All married women in their house do it’ Radhika said. (Bhagat 2010, p. 58) This conversation took place when Esha, who is another female character, found out that Radhika was supposed to dress in a particular way. As it is not visible in the above quote, but the word ‘make’ has been italicized while the rest of them have not. Thus in this way, we can get the feel of how Radhika is desperately trying to defend herself against the truth, implying that she makes her own wish and not her family. She then says that she is willing to follow their culture. Over here, the term ‘culture’ should not be understood in a way which means culture on the basis of region or country, but in fact, it should mean in terms of generation. As previously mentioned, her new parents are both old fashioned, and thus their mentality is often referred to by the public of having the’ old mentality ‘or ‘old culture’. We can also notice a subtly of forced conformity, in the way she is narrating her situation. When she says ‘all’ women, she is implying that all the women in the household dress a certain way. And as they do it, even she is compiled to do it. This once again puts our current society into question, where many people, especially families are forced to go against their own ways or beliefs as they need to conform with the society or they will get ostracized from the community. Thus we can say that Radhika’s household is allegorical to the Indian society. Another general stereotype that has been done by Bhagat is against models in general- ‘ Check it out. She is totally anorexic. I can bet on it’. Priyanka said, pointing to a pale-complexioned model on the dance floor. She wore a top without any sleeves or neck or collar ( Bhagat 2010, p. 97) The term ‘anorexic’ being used signifies this stereotype. Models are thought to be very beautiful, and according to the modern beauty standards, beauty can only come with a thin figure. Thus, many young girls and women tend not to eat much, so that they do not gain weight. Even if they do eat, many times they vomit it out. This is known as anorexia nervosa, which is an eating disorder. Thus Bhagat has quite practically labeled them as anorexic as he thinks that all models are the same. He also uses the term ‘pale-complexioned’. Here the word ‘pale’ can signify a lot. Many such models wear lots of make-up and are thus overpowered by them. This makes their skin quite pale when looking at it. Hence the term ‘pale-complexioned’ is used quite cleverly here. A major stereotype that is seen all over India is their obsession with arranged marriages. Indian parents tend to think that they know what is best for their children, including the person they choose to spend the rest of their lives with. This obsession is also best exemplified in the story through the lens of Priyanka, whose mother is hell bound on finding her a settled husband. Other stereotypes play in here when the man, who is chosen to be the groom, is said to be an NRI or a non-resident Indian. The stereotypes that most Indian girls who are looking to get married prefer an NRI man over a resident one is also quite common. There are also actual reports from Indian marriage sites such as from Shadi.com or Jeevansathi.com, who claim that a lot of their female members are looking for an NRI man. Although ChetanBhagat has used a lot of streotypes, he also made some positive moves such as applying a sort of feminist view towards the female charecters. Radhika, for example, found out that her husband was cheating on her. Instead of staying with him, which would be the result in most Indian cases, she decided to divorce him. The concept of divorce in India can be considered as a taboo. Thus a woman implementing a divorce can only be seen as encouraging and also as empowering. Similar things can be said for Priyanka as well. As previously mentioned, her mother wanted an NRI man for her and she was successful. But after finding out that the groom to be was lying to her, Priyanka turned down the marriage offer. She then got together with Shyam, her co-worker, an ex-boyfriend, who is a lot less successful than Ganesh, the NRI groom. Here we can see a certain determination from Priyanka where he doesn’t get influenced by her mother, which in itself is a big thing, as daughters are usually told to be extra careful and to always listen to their parents. Her insistence on not marrying Ganesh also shows us how she is not after material wealth, and that she is in charge of her own decisions. This is also an excellent example of the empowerment of women. Such representation of women in genre fiction can be considered a good thing, due to the targeted audience being belonging to the Indian middle-class Another very unique stereotype that has been taken by Bhagat is Indians over-reliance. Indians are known for being the country of many religions and thus they have many gods. Due to certain backwardness in our society, many people prefer the word of god over actual scientific proof. Thus the common struggle between science and God is also present here. Many times when a negative event or a disaster happens within a family as such, many people turn to god and insist that God will find a solution for them, instead of trying to have a rational mind. This same stereotype has been exaggerated here. The plot of the book can be said to follow a Deux ex machine, where a particular impossible or unsolvable problem is solved due to unforeseen circumstances. This plot is common amongst genre fiction books and thus it could be considered fitting if both the stereotype and the main structure of the plot were combined. In the novel, all 6 main characters of the novel are stuck in a qualis while it is hanging right above a ditch. When all hope seems lost, Shyam receives a phone call (when no connectivity is available) from god himself. Not only does god help them get out of the tricky situation that they are currently in, but he also gives them valuable life advice which would help them make life-changing decisions that would, in turn, benefit them later in their lives. Thus this insistence of including god in a Deux ex machine plot, instead of any other thing, symbolizes the Indian nature. There are also many stereotypes that have been made against Americans in the novel. One such was – ‘ Americans are sick’. Vroom said as he pointed to a US politician who had spoken out in support of the war. ‘Look at him. He would nuke the whole world if he could have his way’ ( Bhagat 2010, p. 199) This is one of many quotes where Bhagat has taken a jibe at America in relation to their military policy. This ‘support’ of war is used to denote how the constant involvement of America in wars. They are also referring to the war as ‘the’ war, implying that even when America is at war with someone, only proving the previous statement. This is also in many ways a stereotype, with a strong element of truth. The involvement of the US in wars such as the Iraqi war, and the Cold war, in many ways proves that they always support the war. In one of his dialogues, Bhagat also uses the word ‘obsessed’ when talking about America and war. Another stereotype that has been a motif in this book towards Americans is the association of all Americans with being’ dumb’ or dim-witted. This is once again a very real generalization as even though it may not be true for all, America has been called out on many occasions for their lack of standards when concerning the school system and the syllabus that they use. As a concluding remark, we can say that Chetan Bhagat uses very real stereotypes in order to portray the harsh realities of modern society. These stereotypes, along with his colloquial language style, make it a very fun and relatable novel for a lot of the middle-class section of India. Although he has been called out numerous times for his conversational language style and his sometimes discriminatory plots, his inclusion of some strong, encouraged and empowered female characters certainly deserves him some praise, as they themselves are breaking the stereotypes and norms. Although that may be fine for an Indian audience, his representation of America as a whole is degrading. Thus we can say that the main aim of ChetanBhagat’s novels can be considered to be a commercial success and not to be considered into the discourse of literary fiction. BIBLIOGRAPHY- Bhagat, Chetan. 2010. One Night@ the Call Center. New Delhi: Rupa Publications
Notes of Women's Writing in English Literature
This clip contains notes of Women's writing in English Literature.
Divyanshu Sharma
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Pride & Prejudice established the template for an infinity of romance novels, yet no subsequent love story has ever come close to equaling the delights of the original. ... He is madly in love, she can't bear him. In a scene both hilarious and dramatic, Elizabeth squashes Mr
Sidharth Vinod